12 June 2022

Valkenswaard 2022: Time was the executioner in the cones course

An extremely technical cones course formed the final part of Driving Valkenswaard International. No one managed to drive completely clear. On the surface, the lines were not extremely difficult, but because a shorter number of meters was used in determining the allowed time than the actual length, it was hardly possible to drive within the time.

Stan van Eijk won the cones and with it the competition
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

No clear round

In the pair driving, only Sven Stuyk and Dennis Schneiders were able to reach the time limit, but that was at the expense of a few dropped balls. The only one who left all the balls up was Stan van Eijk. He won the cones with just 0.19 penalty points. Classification leader Ewoud Boom knocked off 2 balls and also had time errors. With this he forfeited the win and finished second. “We’re coming to take a cones class with you,” Miriam Boom joked to Stan afterwards. “Of course I wanted a clear round,” says Stan van Eijk. “We train a lot with Ad Aarts on cones, so we know how fast we have to drive. I wanted more power and it is only the 3rd cones competition for my new horse. In the marathon yesterday he was way too tense. But I shouldn’t complain, I wanted more power and so we will continue to work on this.” The Swiss Marcel Luder took his place on the third step of the podium.

The winner of the handicap stakes was Sanny Hagen-Dijkhuis.

De Ronde wins the cones

Also in the four-in-hand, no one drove clear. Koos de Ronde won the cones with only 3 penalty points for a dropped ball. With that, he climbed to 7th place in the final ranking. IJsbrand Chardon finished as best Dutchman in 5th place. Host Boyd Exell also didn’t make the time and saw a ball roll, but he had enough margin and won the competition. Michael Brauchle kept all the balls on the cones. Unfortunately, he also ran into time constraints, which resulted in 5.15 time errors. The German finished second in the final standings. The third place on the podium was for Glenn Geerts. Like Boyd, he also had 1 ball off and a few time errors. The podium for the four-in-hand, became one of 3 nationalities. The win in the handicap stakes went to Daniel Schneiders.

Koos de Ronde in his winning cones course
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

On to 2023

Driving Valkenswaard International has come to an end with this sun-drenched final day. It was an exciting competition, where no day was the same. Last year it was an event without audience due to the corona pandemic, but now young and old could enjoy the combined driving sport for four days. Chairman Ludo Hertroijs: “It was great that we could receive so many guests again. The competition ran smoothly and I am very grateful to our sponsors and all volunteers. The sport was of high level and the competition was exciting until the last moment.” The date for next year is already known: June 8 to 11, 2023.

Click here for all results and the photos

Like last year, Boyd Exell won the competition
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

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